TVSquad

I'm not sure if it seems like it should be more episodes or less, but The Price is Right has been going strong since 1972 and they're going to be celebrating their 7000th episode on November 5. I guess that seems right, it's just that when a show is on for 37 years you lose all track of the number of episodes.

Here's a behind the scenes look at tomorrow's show.

[via BuzzerBlog]

The Price is Right set has gone through a lot of changes over the years, but today's season premiere showed that they were really busy over the summer (as was the Jeopardy crew).

The show used to have a very '70s vibe (even in the '80s and '90s), and then they replaced the more '70s-ish designs with more of a '50s look (while still keeping a lot of the '70s stuff). Today we found out that the retro '50s graphics are still evident on the walls, but they've also changed the two main areas of the stage. The screens on Contestants Row are now more clean and boxy than they used to be, and it looks like they're using a different lighting system for the numbers that pop up on the screens. Looks better.

If you didn't watch today's episode of The Price is Right, you missed a woman wearing a "Substitute Teachers Need Random Sets Too" t-shirt (which I'm still not sure I understand), a woman winning a set of Star Trek Pez dispensers (!),Drew Carey showing what the price card looks like inside that envelope used on Contestants Row (not sure if we've ever seen that before), and a woman flapping her arms up and down like a bird in excitement, even though she didn't win a car in the Lucky 7 game (side note: that game is impossible to win now). Oh, and you also missed Bob Barker return to the show he hosted for over 30 years.

Barker made his first appearance on the show since his retirement to promote his new memoir, Priceless Memories. He showed up during the showcases. After the jump, his appearance (along with interviews and some behind the scenes footage).

We've already heard that former host Bob Barker is going to appear on The Price is Right later this month to promote his new autobiography. But there's another guest that's going to pop up on the show, and it happens today: Mimi from The Drew Carey Show!

Well, to be accurate, Kathy Kinney will appear on her former co-star Drew Carey's CBS game show today as part of the April Fool's Day festivities.

I remember a great April Fool's day Price is Right episode years ago. One of the showcases was their regular "Something For Every Room In The House," but the prizes this day were things like a yo-yo for a game room and a cup for a kitchen. It was pretty funny and really unexpected. Not sure if Drew has anything like that planned for today or if we're just going to see Kinney as Mimi causing havoc on the set.

If I were to win a prize on The Price is Right - perhaps a new Broyhill sofa, some dinnerware from The Michael C. Fina Company, or a new car - I wouldn't jump up and down. In fact, I don't think that a car is even such a great prize to win. But I can understand why contestants who win some of the bigger prizes would want to jump up and down and celebrate.

However, I don't understand why contestants jump up and down before they win a prize.

The Price Is Right recently started its new season, and people who were worried that the show would go in a bad direction after the removal of longtime producer Roger Dobkowitz can rest easy: the show pretty much remains the same. Same host, same music, same games (with a new one added like they usually do every season), same big wheel (slightly spruced up), same Showcase, same people making really lousy decisions when it comes to bidding on prizes in Contestant's Row that make you want to kick in your TV.

There are a few changes, such as the set design changes they made during Drew Carey's first year. For God-knows-how-long, the walls and doors of the stage set have been stuck in the 1970s, and it has always been sort of quaint and comforting that they never changed it. But now they've gone even more retro, with 1950s/early 60s-ish square shapes (circles last year) and colors. As a big fan of mid-century design, I really like this change. Somehow fits in with the game show world a little better.

There seems to be an inordinate amount of lawsuits involving The Price Is Right: sexual harassment, wrongful termination, etc. Now one of those lawsuits is going forward but with one key member no longer involved.

A judge in Los Angeles has dismissed allegations against Bob Barker in the lawsuit involving a former production assistant who says she was demoted because she testified in one of the other cases. The reason for the dismissal? Barker wasn't her boss. The judge also dismissed claims that the woman made against Fremantle Media, but those could be reinstated later if the judge is convinced by her attorney that they should be.

Jason's post earlier today about The Price Is Right reminded me of something I've been thinking about for years: what are the best and worst prizes you can win on the show?

This is all personal opinion, of course. Where I might frown or shrug at a prize I might win another person will scream and jump down about. But I think there are certainly some prizes we can all agree are pretty lame. Below are the six that come to mind. Five of them you'll probably agree with, but I bet several of you will have a problem with number six.

Have you guys been watching The Price is Right with Drew Carey? I missed yesterday's episode, but did tune in just in time to catch this gem today.

Apparently Drew Carey's star power makes people go just as nuts as Bob Barker's did. On today's episode, a woman went ballistic when she found out she was playing Plinko. Sure, that's usually how contestants react to Plinko. But, this woman kept saying, "I have to go to the bathroom!" and (ahem) holding herself. Naturally, Drew pretty much loses it.

This has got to be one of the best TPIR clips ever. Video is after the jump:

This seems like a no-brainer, and I wonder why they haven't done it before. A video game based on The Price Is Right will be in stores in time for Christmas.

Now, that will be long after the CBS show picks a new host to replace Bob Barker (the latest rumor: Drew Carey could get the gig, if he audtions and his new game show Power of 10 does well in the ratings), so there's no word on there will be any host depicted in the game. But all the classic games will be there: Contestant's Row, Plinko, the Showcase Showdown, and there will be real products in the game just like on the TV show.

I just hope they also have annoying, screaming audience members who can confuse the contestants, and women who run down the aisle and their boobs fall out of their dresses.

It looks like the long search for the new host of The Price Is Right is down to two: Sarah Silverman and David Hasselhoff.

Just kidding! The New York Post is reporting that producers have narrowed it down to two contestants: Mark Steines and Todd Newton. Steines is a host on Entertainment Tonight (he'll keep the job if he gets the PIR gig), and Newton has hosted several game shows, including a PIR show in Las Vegas. The pay for the job is reportedly near $3 million a year. Nice.

Hmmm...I'm not sure about this. But I guess they're both competent hosts. It looks like producers are going for the safer choices (male, slightly older, experienced) than going with someone like Mario Lopez or Ian Ziering.

Rosie O'Donnell has answered the prayers of many longtime Price Is Right fans: she has taken herself out of the running for the hosting job.

Of course, no one officially offered her the job, but she did meet with the show's producers for lunch last week. She would love to host the show, but as she says on her latest video blog, she doesn't want to uproot her family and move out to L.A., where the show is taped. She knows that a lot of people would, but she doesn't need the money and would rather take on projects that would keep her in New York.

So now we're down to only 47 other people who could host.

[via TV Tattle]

Now that Bob Barker has retired, it's time for his microphone to retire too! We certainly don't want someone like Rosie O'Donnell or Mario Lopez using it, right?

One of the mics that Barker used on The Price Is Right is up for sale on eBay. Right now it's at $6,700 and there have been 51 bids. It comes with a nice letter of authenticity written and signed by Barker himself. The money from the sale goes to help the United Activists for Animal Rights.

The cord that comes with it looks to be approximately 6 miles long. I think one of us should buy it and put on our own Price Is Right in our home.

Back in November, Julia gave her five reasons why she was going to miss Bob Barker, who is retiring from The Price Is Right this year. Just in time for his tribute on CBS tomorrow comes this list from Best Week Ever, the reasons why they're going to miss the silver fox.

Among the reasons are the women who kiss Bob on the cheek when they come up on stage (I think I saw a guy do it once) and the $100 bill that he keeps in his pocket that he gives to bidders who get the contestant's row price exactly right.

I remember several years back when he used to have the contestant actually reach into his pocket to take out that money. Thankfully they changed that.

Seriously. Mario Lopez is supposedly one of the three finalists in the running to take over for Bob Barker when he retires from the long-running CBS game show later this year. The other two finalists? Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Donald Trump.

OK, I'm kidding about those last two names. But would they be more of a ridiculous choice than Dancing with the Stars star Lopez? What do producers see in him that they say, "you know, he might be a good replacement for Bob?"